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The effects of aftercare programs on institutional recidivism
Author(s) -
McNees M. Patrick,
Hannah Jerry T.,
Schnelle John F.,
Bratton Katherine M.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(197704)5:2<128::aid-jcop2290050206>3.0.co;2-8
Subject(s) - recidivism , mental health , psychology , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health
With increasing numbers of individuals being returned to the community from mental institutions, diverse community mental health center based „aftercare” programs have emerged to potentially meet the needs of these individuals. The degree to which aftercare programs are effectively preventing reinstitutionalization remains as a major unanswered question. In the present evaluation, an attempt was made to analyze the effects on recidivism of beginning formal aftercare programs in three Tennessee counties. A „multiple baseline type analysis” indicated that no clear reductions in recidivism rates occurred as a result of the aftercare programs. However, a more in‐depth analysis in one of the target counties indicated that recidivism rates were substantially lower for individuals who contacted the aftercare program than those who did not contact the program. Thus, while the results do not suggest overall reductions in recidivism rates, it is possible that the aftercare programs are not contacting a large enough proportion of the releases to result in significant overall reductions.